West Anaheim plan: 63 things to improve

City officials held a workshop last Tuesday to introduce a plan they hope will solve several problems in West Anaheim. The West Anaheim Action Plan, presented at a City Council workshop on July 28, spells out 63 items the city wants to focus on during the next few years. The plan is similar in structure to the East Anaheim Action Plan, which was completed last year. Planning Department director Joel Fick said the East Anaheim plan was acted on quickly, with 80 precent of the goals completed after one year. He hopes for similar results in West Anaheim. Fick said the majority of the plan involves the changing of zoning and general plan amendments that must go to the City Council but can be done quickly and without much cost. Several elements of the plan tie into the West Anaheim Redevelopment Plan recently approved by the City Council. Fick said the two plans should compliment each other. Fick said the plan, which covers 2,400 acres from the city s western border to Gilbert Street, was developed after tmunity meetings attended by more than 200 people, 8,600 field surveys and extensive help from the West Anaheim Neighborhood Development community group. The plan is divided into seven sections, which encompass a variety of city departments. Fick said separate city departments will be responsible for implementing different parts of the plan. The first eight items deal with zoning code amendments. City staff hopes to require conditional use permits before opening a thrift store, coin-operated laundries or drive-through stores such as dry cleaners, pharmacies and banks. Fick said these kinds of businesses, which often stay open late hours and by their nature have people milling around, can cause an increase in crime. There are a lot of things that can be done with the size and the shape of Laundromats, for example, Fick said. Hopefully, by making them come before us before opening we can help create better environments. Another zoning code amendment plann plants and amount of landscaping required at new developments, Fick said certain plants and trees do not provide adequate shade or are not attractive. A series of overall landscape improvements also are included in the plan.